Of Medics and Muggings
by ScribeOfRhapsody
Summary: Tifa was fine, attempted mugging and injured wrist aside. Besides, her new "friend" was a doctor, or so he said. Modern AU.


**This one-shot is for the lovely and wonderful **_**Mockingjay Rose**_**, who posted the 300th review on my massive AU, **_**Shattered**_**. Her request was Genesis/Tifa, modern day, with Genesis as a doctor. Eh… he's sort of a doctor? lol I hope you all enjoy!**

**Also, the age differences between these characters is not really being applied.**

* * *

_Ow._ _Ow, ow, ow, ow, freaking ow!_

Tifa cradled her wrist as she leaned back against the hood of the redheaded stranger's car. The cops would be on their way by now, given when he said he'd called 911.

She'd told Aerith that she didn't want to go out tonight, but she hadn't listened. Well, okay, that wasn't exactly fair. Aerith was just trying to help her get a social life. Not like she could have known Tifa was going to be the victim of an attempted mugging on her way home.

The redhead flipped his phone shut and rolled his eyes. He'd said his parents would be freaking out when he wasn't home on time, and judging by his radiating irritation, he'd been right. "You know, that was pretty stupid. Four against one? You could have just given them your purse."

…And apparently that irritation was being projected onto her. Nice. And what was he even talking about? One of them may have gotten a lucky shot that ended up injuring her wrist, but she'd already taken out three of them and was still on her feet by the time Mr. Rich Boy – yeah, he had to be rich, no one who wasn't owned this kind of car – showed up to help out.

"You obviously don't know how much bartending pays," she muttered. She was planning on picking up her birthday present for her father in the morning, so the amount of cash she was carrying would have been a nightmare to earn back.

The redhead rolled his eyes and reached for her arm.

"Ow! Stop it, you'll make it worse!"

"Oh, hush." He grabbed her upper arm and extended the limb to inspect the damaged area. "I'm a doctor."

Tifa snorted. "Really? You're a boy genius, then? Started college at twelve?"

"I'll have you know I am legally an adult, thank you very much!" He scowled. "I'm a medical student, all right? Now, do you want me to look, or shall I call you an ambulance as well?"

She sighed, and held still as he began to prod around her arm.

"This hurt?"

"No."

"Here?"

"No."

"How about _here?_"

"_Ow!_ Yes, stop it!"

He rolled his eyes again. "Oh, buck up! You just took down three men twice your size, I would have thought you could handle a little bruising without whining so much."

"Has anyone ever told you that, for a doctor in training, your bedside manner really _sucks?_" She shifted her position against the car slightly as he kept prodding. Weren't doctors supposed to_ like_ people?

"You know, they never really stop. And then they whine more." He turned her arm over slowly.

What a weirdo. "Then why be a doctor? I mean, if you don't like dealing with patients? It's that kind of contradictory?"

Something in his eyes flickered, and Tifa knew she'd hit a nerve. "Family lineage. Mother was a doctor, grandfather was a doctor… et cetera. I'm an only child, so I have to carry on the legacy. Lucky me."

That was rough. No wonder he was so grumpy. Her dad never tried to force her into any career. "And what do you want to do?"

"Rest this here." He gently set her wrist on the hood of his car. "I wanted to join the military. Fight for my country." He shook his head. "My parents act like that's a scandal."

"You can't do _anything_ else?" Why on Earth would any parent do that to their child?

He shrugged, sticking his thumbs in the pockets of his expensive-brand jeans. "Has to be medicine, apparently."

Tifa tilted her head, ignoring the steady throbbing of her wrist. "_Any _kind of medicine?"

His brow creased. "I suppose."

"Well… can't you be a field medic or something? Compromise with them?" He'd probably already tried talking his parents into something like this, but it didn't hurt to ask.

Instead, he looked like she'd told him that the moon was square and proved it. He hesitated for a few moments, and she imagined actual gears turning in his head. "I… doubt they'll accept that, but it's worth a shot." He held out his right hand. "Genesis."

She guessed that giving his name was as close to a thank you as she was going to get. She stared at his hand, and then glanced at her injured one.

"Oh… Right." He switched hands.

"Tifa. Tifa Lockhart." She chuckled as their non-dominant hands clumsily shook.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Lockhart. If my parents take to your idea, I'll have to buy you a drink some time." He smiled, and she imagined he'd have a lot of girls chasing after him. If he wasn't always going out of his way to act like an ass.

* * *

_Eight years later…_

Tifa came close to spitting out her drink as Yuffie delivered the punch line to a joke while she was taking a sip. Of course, then Yuffie _and _Aerith had to laugh at her and the mess she almost made. This was the most fun she'd had in months. Not to say that her past couple of months had been bad, they were just busy and this was a nice break.

She grabbed a couple of napkins from the center of the table and wiped up the few drops she'd spilled.

"Ooooh." Yuffie's eyes lit up as she looked at the door to the bar. "Cute military guys…"

Tifa had a little more tact than to spin around in her chair to look, so she just chuckled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Probably a little old for you, Yuff."

"Oh, come on, Tifa!" Yuffie pouted. "Don't be such a killjoy! Ohh, one of them's coming over!"

_Already? _They just walked in and one of them was already headed their way? Well, someone was desperate…

"Pardon me… Tifa? Tifa Lockhart?"

Wait, what? She shifted her chair, glancing over her shoulder. It took a second for recognition to settle in, but when it did, Tifa had to do a doubt take. "Genesis?" No way. The poor-mannered medical student? Here? And… in a military uniform. His dream had come true. And that dream looked _good_ on him…

He nodded, his posture bone straight as she smiled warmly at him. "You remembered."

Tifa gave a light chuckle. "Kinda hard to forget the night I was robbed."

Genesis quirked an eyebrow. "Don't you mean _almost_ robbed? If there was an Olympics for bad luck, the men who chose you as a target would not have only medaled, they would have Michael Phelpsed." That earned a round of giggles from all three of the girls before he continued. "As for me… well, how could I ever forget the woman that helped me attain my dreams?"

Tifa felt the heat creeping up her neck. "I _had _noticed the uniform. So… field medic?"

"Indeed." He was projecting a much happier aura compared to when they last met. "Now… if I recall correctly… I believe I owe you a drink. Not that I mean to keep you from your current companions–"

"No, we don't mind!" Aerith blurted out. She shoved Tifa's arm, nearly knocking her out of her chair.

"Well, all three of you could join us, if you wish." He gestured to the four other men across the room.

"_Okay!_" Yuffie jumped up from her chair.

Tifa rolled her eyes with a fond smile as Genesis led them over to the other soldiers. "Introductions!" he announced, drawing his friends' attention. "This is Tifa."

"Whoa, wait…" the spiky black-haired one said. "_The_ Tifa?"

He told them about her?

"Indeed." He gestured to the man. "This is Zack. And the rest are Angeal, Sephiroth, and Cloud."

Each man nodded at their name, and Yuffie was quick to introduce herself in return, as well as Aerith.

By the end of the night, Zack had Aerith's phone number, Cloud had Yuffie's – not that he'd _asked _for it – and Tifa had a planned date.

Who knew almost getting mugged wouldn't be all that bad?


End file.
